Australian Player Revolt Looming

Australian Super Rugby players from the Rebels and the Reds have huddled for a post-match prayer on Friday.

This comes amid reports of anger among the game’s Christians over the handling of the Israel Folau social media furore.

Wallaby
fullback Folau, a fundamentalist Christian, moved a step closer to
being sacked by Rugby Australia this week, after he was found to have
committed a “high-level” code of conduct breach for a post that said
hell awaited “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers” and others.

The
case has upset a number of Folau’s Wallabies teammates who share his
religious beliefs, with Reds prop Taniela Tupou writing that RA “might
as well sack… all the other Pacific Islands rugby players around the
world.”

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier on Friday
that Reds and Rebels players had proposed to gather for prayer on the
field at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in a “show of solidarity” for
Folau.

Following
the Rebels’ 30-24 win over the Reds, players from both sides knelt on
the pitch with arms locked in a circle as Reds hooker Brandon
Paenga-Amosa addressed the group with emotion.

The huddle included
a number of Australia players, including Queensland captain Samu
Kerevi, his Reds teammate Sefa Naivalu and another Wallabies winger in
Melbourne’s Marika Koroibete.

Folau faced a three-member panel over three days of hearings.

The panel issued its verdict on Tuesday and said it would consider further submissions before issuing a sanction.

The
judgement came more than three weeks after RA and Folau’s Super Rugby
club New South Wales Waratahs said they intended to terminate his
four-year contract.

Folau has a right to appeal but a high-level breach would be sufficient for RA and the Waratahs to dismiss the 73-test back.

The offending post, which has attracted 54,000 ‘likes’ and 48,000 comments, remains on Folau’s Instagram page.